The Dragon of Rukongai
by BinaryOverdrive
Summary: Naruto wakes up in Rukongai, knowing nothing but his name. Now he must fight to survive in Rukongai's slums. But his real goal is to end the suffering. He makes it his mission to change Rukongai, and make it the Heaven that it should be.


Hey there people. Just got back into Bleach and I thought I'd try my hand at a Bleach and Naruto crossover. This will be my first attempt at a Bleach and Naruto crossover, so I hope you like it.

Summary: Naruto wakes up in Rukongai, knowing nothing but his name. Now he must fight to survive in Rukongai's slums.

There are going to be aspects of Bleach that aren't going to stay the same, and things that I'm going to be adding, as well as a new story arc (although a short one). I won't explain them now, but you'll see what I mean later. One of them is in this chapter I believe (not exactly the expert on Bleach, but I know enough).

This will probably be a pretty long story, since it takes place years before the actual Bleach timeline. There will be timeskips, but even then the Bleach series is pretty long itself.

That is, if my interest in writing it continues. So long as I get a decent amount of reviews and such, it should continue without any problems.

I'll try to update every week, but it depends on how long the next chapter is, and what I'm doing at that time.

EDIT: I noticed a few mistakes, and my break lines had disappeared, so I went to change them. I apologize.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach.

Please enjoy

* * *

The Dragon of Rukongai

Chapter 1: Awakening

His head was swimming. All he could see were blurry shapes and colors. He sat up from his resting spot, groaning. His hands instantly went to his head when he felt a sharp pain. "God…. What happened to me?" he was barely able to say.

He tried to calm himself down so he could assess his situation better. After a minute or so his pounding migraine slowed into a dull throb. He was able to see, and noticed that he was inside some kind of beaten-down shack. The place was a total wreck, with creaky floorboards, broken furniture, and only two rooms with no separating door. There was one window, with no glass, and the door was a simple sliding door with ripped covering.

"What is this? Where am I?" he questioned himself, trying to remember just what happened to him that he woke up here in a bedroll. Or, what could be considered a makeshift bedroll.

He was in the back corner of the second "room", the other being a crude kitchen. All food was placed on top of a single shelf. There was barely enough for three people.

He was in what he assumed as the entryway/living room. Everything was made of cheap wood. There was a cutoff right before the door, where shoes went. From the looks of it, only one pair of shoes was there. Those must have been his, and the owner(s) of the shack were out.

He tried his best to stand, and stumbled over to the wall. Using the wall for support, he made his way to the front door, and just as he was about to exit, he heard footsteps from the other side.

The door opened, and he froze like a deer caught in the headlights. An elder man, with long white hair and an odd looking outfit. Once the man saw his charge in front of him, he grinned. "Finally awake I see," he said with a raspy voice. He got no response, rather, a strange look. "We found you just outside. You've been out for a few days now kid."

The "kid" glared, "don't call me kid…" He warned the strange old man.

The man laughed and held up his hands dismissively, "whoa there boy, settle down. That's no way to talk to someone who saved your life is it?"

The young boy growled, "Where am I?"

The man tilted his head, "you don't know? Man, that hit to your head must have been worse than we thought." He held his hands out, indicating everything, "you're in Rukongai. The slums of Rukongai, rather. Lucky you." The man walked past the confused youth to roll up what he used as a bedroll. "You remember anything?"

The youth shook his head, "nothing, only my name."

"Hm, that's odd. Well, you can call me Jiraiya. I'm a pretty famous author here in Rukongai. What I have here is more than what most have in the slums." He indicated his furniture. "What's your name kid?"

The "kid" growled again, "like I said, don't call me kid. My name is Naruto."

"Naruto huh?" Jiraiya grinned, "Well, welcome to my lovely abode Naruto. Make yourself at home."

Jiraiya sat in the middle of the room, pulling out a notebook and writing something in it.

"Wait, wait, wait…" Naruto said, walking over to Jiraiya. He glared, "I have a few questions."

"Well, glaring at me isn't going to get those questions answered any faster," Jiraiya scolded, smiling up at Naruto. "Sit down; I'll answer any you have. I'm sure you're really confused."

Naruto sat in front of Jiraiya, watching him write in his pad. "First off, why do you keep saying we?"

"Me and my wife," Jiraiya answered, looking up. "We found you, and she's the one who nursed you back to health. She's pretty good at that." He laughed, "I'd be dead a thousand times over without her."

"Where is she?" Naruto asked his second question.

"She should be coming back from work soon. I was just taking a stroll outside, looking for… research material before I came back."

Naruto looked to the door when more footsteps were heard.

"Speak of the devil," Jiraiya said, grinning. The door slid open, and a beautiful, young looking blonde woman with a well-endowed chest stepped into the house. A diamond was on her forehead, and a green emerald necklace hung from her neck. She had a white and black yukata dress, with a green overcoat lined with white diamonds.

She turned to look at Naruto, "oh, so you're awake?"

"He can't remember anything," Jiraiya told the newcomer, putting his notepad away. "He has a lot of questions."

The blonde lady sat down next to Jiraiya. She smiled at Naruto, "I'm Tsunade. Please, feel free to ask your questions."

"N-Naruto," he blushed slightly at Tsunade's beauty. "Um, I just have one more question. What is Rukongai?"

"This is where souls come after they die," Tsunade answered without batting an eyelash.

"D-dead?" Naruto croaked in surprise, his eyes widening. "I'm dead?"

"That's right," Jiraiya nodded, "you, I, Tsunade; we're all dead."

"Just outside, in the market, you fell and hit your head on a stand, breaking it. That must be why you've lost your memories." Tsunade deduced, "and why you can't remember coming to Rukongai, or that you died."

Naruto sat back, leaning against the wall behind him. This was all so much for him to take in. It wasn't every day you find out that your dead. "I… I'm dead…" he placed his hands in front of his face, inspecting them as if to see something different.

"Don't worry kid, like they say, death is only the beginning," Naruto winced at being called kid again. This time by Tsunade.

Jiraiya laughed, "he really does hate being called that."

"Hm? Kid?" Tsunade looked over to Jiraiya, wondering what he meant.

"Yeah. He hates it for some reason," Jiraiya confirmed.

Naruto stood up from his spot, moving over to the door. Jiraiya and Tsunade watched him carefully.

"And where do you think you're going?" Tsunade asked, almost motherly.

Naruto paused, turning his head enough for them to see the side of his face, "I want to see this Rukongai for myself."

Tsunade shook her head, "oh no you're not. You don't know what kind of people you'll meet out there."

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm not as weak as I look. At least, I don't think I am…" Naruto slid the door open.

"Go with him Jiraiya; I don't trust this town any more than you do." Tsunade demanded, pointing towards where Naruto had just exited.

"Do I have to?" Jiraiya wined, but was silenced by Tsunade's glare. "Hai, hai…" Jiraiya sighed and stood up, following Naruto out of the door.

Tsunade sighed and grabbed a bottle of sake from the wood counter, chugging it down.

* * *

Jiraiya caught up with Naruto, walking shoulder to shoulder with him.

"You don't need to follow me Jiraiya-san. I can handle myself." Naruto said, observing everything. These really were the slums. What little shacks there were, were just as beat up as Jiraiya and Tsunade's. Though, none of them had a door, and from what he could see, only one room.

The poor were just as bad. Dressed in rags, most of the men were shirtless, and the children had dirt covering their bodies. When he looked down an alleyway, he actually saw someone face first on the ground, either intoxicated or dead.

Everyone looked malnourished, especially the children who were all on their own. He rarely saw a child with an adult. He even saw children who were nearly ten or younger, taking care of babies.

It was just sickening.

"This is Rukongai?" Naruto asked with disgust. "Is this heaven, or hell?"

"Sadly, this is heaven," Jiraiya patted Naruto on the back, "get used to it. It gets better the closer you get to Seireitei, but way out here, it's bad. Really bad."

"Seireitei?" Naruto asked, stopping and turning to Jiraiya.

"Seireitei is where the Gotei 13, and the Central 46 live. Their our military and government, respectfully." Jiraiya answered. Naruto could hear a slight bit of loathing when he mentioned the Gotei 13 and Central 46.

"They don't do anything about this?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "Not a thing. We're on our own out here."

Naruto clenched his fist. If even one of those idiots were in front of him, he'd teach them a lesson for being so neglectful.

"It's dangerous out here," Jiraiya said, eyeballing a group of suspicious looking characters to their right. "You have to watch yourself. There's a lot of crime that goes on here, since we don't have so much as a police force."

"This is ridiculous…" Naruto said quietly, looking over to the same group of people. They were staring down a couple of females pretty harshly. Naruto didn't like the way they were looking. "Jiraiya-san…"

"I know, let it go boy." Jiraiya turned away from the group, pretending not to watch. "You'd learn to best ignore what happens here."

"But…" he tried, but was cut off by Jiraiya.

"Ignore it," but just as he said this, one of the men from the group made his way over to the unsuspecting girls.

Naruto watched the man move over to them, clenching his fists harder.

"Hey there baby," the thug said, grabbing one of the girl's arms.

"Ow!" the girl cried out as she was pulled aside by the thug. "Let me go!"

"You look pretty lonely out here," one of the thugs friends came up behind the other girl, pinning her arms behind her. "Why don't you come hang with us?"

Naruto watched as the girls were harassed. They were slowly being dragged back to where Naruto assumed the thugs resided. He looked over to Jiraiya pleadingly, but he was completely ignoring the scene and walking away, as were many people.

Naruto's face contorted in anger, blood drawing from his clenched fists. _'I can't accept this… I just can't. To ignore this happening…' _horrible thoughts were running through his mind. Thoughts of what the thugs were planning to do, and thoughts of what he would do to the thugs for even thinking of it. He growled under his breath.

The girls were soon dragged inside of the shack. The sound of them screaming, and clothes tearing, could be heard.

Naruto, not being able to take much more, grabbed a broom that was conveniently laid on the wall, charging at the shack.

"Naruto, let's go…" Jiraiya turned, only to see Naruto charge inside. "You idiot!"

Naruto busted through the sliding door. Inside, the thugs were standing over the girls, who were bruised and nearly naked. In the confusion, they were able to get away from their attackers, to the other side of the room.

"Who the fuck'r you kid?" one of the thugs asked, glaring at Naruto.

Naruto's eyes were hidden by the shadow of his hair. The wood from the broom crinkled from Naruto's tense grip. He glared hard at the first thug to address him, before charging. He swung the broom at him, but was easily dodged.

"Get out of here while you can!" he yelled to the girls, keeping the thug back using the distance of the broom. He swung randomly, keeping them at bay the best he could.

The two girls ran out as fast as they could, the second one thanking him. Naruto smiled at his success.

"Now you done it kid," one of the thugs said, stepping forward. He pulled out a blade from his yukata.

Naruto gasped and backed away. He really was in over his head. If it wasn't for his overly-potent sense of justice, he wouldn't have gotten involved, though he was proud of himself for saving the two girls.

The thug stepped forward, smirking at Naruto. "Now what are you gonna do little hero?"

Naruto glared, standing his ground. The thug lunged forward, Naruto dodging and swinging the broom at him. The thug dodged that, and got into Naruto's guard. He kneed Naruto in the stomach. Naruto coughed, and fell to the ground hard. He rolled, and got back up on his feet.

"We got a fighter here," another thug said, laughing. "Think you can take us all on."

Naruto was breathing heavily. The last attack knocked the wind out of him pretty good. Regaining his composure as best he could, he tossed the broom at the thugs, catching them off guard. He charged forward while they were stunned and knocked the blade from the thug's hand.

The thug scoffed, and punched Naruto in the side of the head. Naruto's head shot back, but through sheer determination he stayed on his feet and delivered a counter-blow. A wicked uppercut that sent the thug to the floor.

One of the other's came up to Naruto's blind spot, and through a hook at him. Naruto ducked under it, and jumped on the thug's back. He hung on to his neck, chocking him.

"Ugh… let go ya piece of shit!" the thug cursed, trying to pry Naruto off. He slammed him into the wall behind him. Naruto coughed up blood, but hung on. Three more slams later, and the thug finally passed out, but Naruto had a pretty sore back. He held himself up on one knee, breathing heavier than before.

The second thug cracked his knuckles, glaring and grinning at Naruto. Naruto gulped, backing up into the wall. The thug picked up the blade from the ground, walking toward Naruto. He stopped though, when the sound of something connecting with someone's head sounded. He turned only to get a 2x4 slammed in his face. Blood spewed from his nose, and he landed on the ground in a heap.

Jiraiya sighed looking over the mess. "Jiraiya-san!" Naruto called in surprise, eyes slightly wide.

Jiraiya dropped the wood plank and held his hand out to Naruto. "Hurry up; we have to get out of here before these idiots wake up."

Naruto grabbed his hand, and was abruptly pulled up to his feet. Jiraiya rushed out of the shack, Naruto following close behind. Naruto noticed everyone watching them as they made their way back to their own shack.

As soon as they entered, Jiraiya turned to Naruto, glaring hard. "What did I tell you?" he scolded loudly.

"What was I supposed to do? Let them get raped?" Naruto countered, glaring just as hard.

"What happened?" Tsunade slurred, seemingly intoxicated, as there was a light blush on her face.

"Yes, it happens every day Naruto! There isn't anything that we can do! It's a mess out here, and I know it's unfair, but now you've drawn attention to yourself!" Tsunade was ignored, while Naruto and Jiraiya continued to butt heads.

Naruto continued to glare harder and harder at Jiraiya.

"Now you've gone and made yourself a target. They'll be looking for you, waiting for you to turn your back. Or they'll just up their ante to piss you off. Helping does more harm than good boy!" Jiraiya countered with wisdom behind his words.

Naruto shook his head, "then I'll stop them. However many times it takes, I'll stop them."

"You're a fool boy." Jiraiya grabbed one of the bedrolls, placing it on the floor. "I'm tired, goodnight."

Naruto was fuming. His face was hidden with shadow. He abruptly grabbed his own bedroll and went to the opposite side of the house from Jiraiya.

Tsunade just watched the seen with confusing, before lying down next to Jiraiya and falling asleep.

* * *

It was morning, and Naruto woke up to the smell of breakfast. He sat up from his bedroll, looking into the kitchen to see Jiraiya cooking something over a fire. Tsunade still slept in her bedroll, blush evident, talking in her sleep.

Naruto watched Jiraiya cook. His stomach growled softly. Once the cooking was finished, Jiraiya placed a portion in front of Naruto.

Naruto just stared at the food, not doing anything.

"Go on, eat." But even with Jiraiya's coaxing Naruto still stood still. "Starve then." Jiraiya took his portion to his side of the room, sitting next to Tsunade and chowing down.

Naruto continued to stare at his food, wondering whether he should swallow his pride and eat, or starve. He eventually picked up the bowl and began eating.

Once he was finished, he brought the bowl to the kitchen, setting it down on the counter. He walked over to the door, sliding it open.

"You aren't going outside again." Jiraiya warned, writing something down in his notepad once again.

"Watch me," Naruto said under his breath, walking out of the door.

Jiraiya sighed, "Stupid kid."

* * *

Naruto walked through the town, angry. He knew he had just gotten here, or so it seemed. And that Jiraiya had much more experience with this place. He knew he was right in the fact that he had made himself a target now, but to just sit by while all of this was happening. He couldn't do it; he just couldn't ignore all of this suffering. It was almost too much to bear.

And those Seireitei bastards that let this happen. He would never forgive them.

He turned when he heard a coughing. A poor girl, long greasy black locks, with an oversized shirt, was holding onto the hand of a boy who looked to be five or so years younger. The boy looked malnourished, and was coughing up a fit.

Naruto's face took a look of concern. He stepped up next to the girl and bent down to her level. She winced, as if he was going to attack her, while the boy was too weak to move. She covered him with her body, pulling him away from Naruto.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Naruto's tone was soothing, comforting. The girl looked at him with confusion. Naruto pulled out a small piece of bread, something he had saved from his breakfast. He broke it into even pieces, and held them out to the girl. "Go on, take it. You need it more than I do."

Hesitantly, she brought her hand out, taking the bread. She had to feed the small child, before eating her own piece.

Naruto smiled warmly, "Is that your little brother?"

The girl nodded, not saying anything.

"You're a wonderful older sister. Taking care of your brother like that," he ruffled her hair lightly. The faintest bit of a smile was on the girls face.

"Who… you?" she attempted to form a sentence.

"Me?" Naruto pointed a thumb at himself. "Why, I'm Naruto. I live around here. What's your name?"

"Mi… Mia…" She spoke quietly.

"Mia huh? What a charming name. And what of your brother? What's his name?"

"Daisuke… he named after papa." Her smile increased. "Papa left. Find job for money."

"He left you here huh…" Naruto said gravely, not liking this papa character. "Who do you live with now?"

"Mama," she said, pointing to a shack to her left. "Live there. Small, but home."

"Mia, Daisuke, come insi…" who Naruto thought to be their mother walked out of the shack Mia pointed to. The woman's hair was wrangled, and she wore a similar outfit to Mia. Her eyes widened at the site of Naruto. She rushed over to Mia and Daisuke and ushered them inside, scooting them along with her hands.

Naruto took on a sad look, standing up from his crouch. He watched as the mother pushed her kids inside. He understood the reaction, he was a target. The mother didn't want that on her kids. Either that or she just didn't trust anyone.

Naruto stuffed his hands in his pockets and continued his walk. His black kimono pants ruffled with each step. He used one hand to brush off the dust from his orange and black kimono top.

The town looked just as bad as it did yesterday, except with daylight. It didn't make anything look any prettier.

As he was walking along, he felt something following him. He turned, to see a square shaped rock, which seemed like it was supposed to blend in. Naruto gave the rock a blank look. "Huh?" he grunted.

Turning around, he walked a few steps before stopping and turning back to it. To his annoyance, it was still following him. He grinned, devising a plan. He pretended to turn around, and then walked in place to make it seem like he was moving. It worked like a charm, as whoever was inside the "rock" stood and started walking toward him. They bumped into him, knocking the rock off.

"Mah~! Udon! What were you thinking?" a young looking boy with dark brown hair yelled. He had a kimono outfit, with a scarf and a pair of goggles on. To Naruto's surprise the boy and his companions didn't look like the usual poor children he saw around the area.

The boy he was yelling at sniffed. A long gross snot bubble hung from his nose. He also had the regular black kimono.

The last child was a girl, with pinkish red hair pulled up into two straight up pony tails. She had a light red yukata with a black sash.

"S-sorry…" Udon said, sniffing again. "I didn't know he had stopped."

Naruto gave the three an odd look. The brown haired boy, seemingly the leader, turned to Naruto, grinning. "Hey there boss!"

Naruto gave the boy an odd look, raising one eye brow, "boss?"

All three of the kids got into a pose, standing next to each other, with the brown haired boy in the middle. "That's right boss! I'm Konohamaru!"

"Udon!" the sickly-looking boy with the glasses called, pushing them up his nose farther.

"And I'm Moegi!" lastly, the girl said, pumping her fist in the air. She had the look and feel of a tomboy.

"We saw you fight off those punks! The three of us want to protect and change Rukongai too! We want you to be our boss!" Konohamaru yelled excitedly, a childish grin on his face.

"Pass," Naruto said bluntly, turning and walking away from the three.

Konohamaru's jaw dropped to the floor at the blatant answer and disregard from Naruto. It was definitely not how he wanted it to be. He expected Naruto to be completely excited about the idea. Not everyone gets to be the boss of the great Konohamaru.

"Wait!" Konohamaru called, following Naruto. His posse joined.

"I'm not interested," Naruto didn't even turn to the three. He continued walking. "Go home."

Konohamaru glared at Naruto, clenching his fists. "I want to do what you do… to protect these people… Why won't you let us join you?" He yelled at Naruto.

Naruto stopped this time, turning around to Konohamaru. He gave the boy a look, one that was not a glare, nor was it scolding… it was understanding. Harsh understanding… It sent Konohamaru aback, his eyes widening a little. "Like I said kid, go home. I know you want to help, and I respect you for that, but there's nothing you can do other than die. I'm not putting three more children at risk. My own life I can handle, but not yours. Please just… go home."

Konohamaru took on the same look that Naruto gave Jiraiya. Head down, eyes covered. Lips pursed into a frown, gloom hanging in the air… His fists were clenched tightly. "Don't call me kid… I'm not a kid… I can help, I can fight… I'll show you!" Konohamaru turned on his heel, speeding away.

Udon and Moegi turned as well, reaching out to Konohamaru. "Wait Kono-kun!" Moegi called, running after him. Udon took one last look at Naruto before running off.

Naruto sighed, brushing his hair with his hand.

* * *

Naruto sat atop one of the shacks. He laid back, looking at the sky. Or, was that even the sky?

Naruto contemplated his thoughts. Just how would he help these people the way he is? While he may have said he'd stop those thugs however many times it took, he almost died the first time. That is, if you can actually die in this place. He had little to no knowledge about Rukongai. And even if he did, it didn't help his problem.

He still couldn't fight. That was obvious by the way he handled the thugs. Little power, no skill, small stature… just was what he thinking, trying to save everyone in this area? He'd never succeed…

But even still, he had to try. He could never be like Jiraiya, just ignoring the pleas of help. He could never live that way. He'd rather end his existence.

He had to learn how to fight, and fast. Sadly, the only thing he could think of… was the Gotei 13. While their disregard and neglect may be the cause of Rukongai's suffering, when you have a problem, it's best to attack at the core.

If he could somehow change the way that the Gotei 13 operated, the way that Central 46 governed, he could fix Rukongai easily. He could give Heaven back to these poor people.

But at his current strength he had 0% chance of even getting in the front gates of Seireitei. He'd have to learn how to fight, how to defend himself. Not only that, he'd have to build intelligence, if he wished to change things. Without intelligence, charisma, skill and strength, he'd have no possible chance.

He already had his charisma. His personality was built for a kind leader, one who ruled with an open palm. Something he would need to change Rukongai.

Then came skill, strength and intelligence. Jiraiya seemed like a wise man. He could help with intelligence. But where would he train his strength?

How did the military in Gotei 13 even fight? Normal martial arts and weapon techniques, or something more? Everything was such a mystery to him.

Naruto stood from his spot, jumping off of the shack. In all honesty he was surprised the hovel actually held up his weight.

Naruto began his walk through the district, looking out for anything sketchy or suspicious. He was on his way to Jiraiya, to apologize and ask for his tutelage.

He passed by the hovel of the girl and boy he gave the bread to. He looked to where they were sitting before, but they weren't there. More than likely their mother is keeping them inside. However, this brought up a point he noticed while walking through the district.

A lot of people were missing from the streets. Even those that were homeless. Why was that? He turned in circles, looking for the missing people. Everything seemed so dead… more than before. Were they hiding?

"You should have just let it go, like everyone else…" a threatening voice was heard behind him. He gasped, turning around sharply. He took a step back when he recognized the three figures, though each was sporting a very bad bandage job.

"You three…" Naruto's eyes widened, and he took a step back.

The one whom he choked grinned wildly. "That's right kid. You think you'd be rid of us that easily? You cost us a lot of fun yesterday, so you know what we did? We're going to pay you right back. We have a few friends of yours. Tied up down by the river. We give the signal, and our friends holding the little brats will kill 'em in the most brutal way you could think of."

"Konohamaru and the others… What did you do to them?" Naruto shouted in a demanding tone.

"Is that his name? That little brown shit. He tried attacking me, saying something about showing you up or some bull like that. You'd best make your way over there. They won't last long."

Naruto didn't hesitate for a second. He ran past the three thugs, toward the area that one of them pointed toward. The river that he spoke of.

It only took him a few minutes to find the river. He stopped, in shock of what he saw. On three poles were Moegi, Udon and Konohamaru, fear stricken faces, tears, tied and bound. Around them stood nearly fifty thugs, all carrying some kind of weapon, and grinning.

The three that he fought off before walked in from behind him, pushing him forward. Naruto stumbled, falling onto his knees in front of the crowd. The three walked over to their thug friends, looking down at Naruto like a piece of trash.

"Mmm! Mmph!" Konohamaru yelled, muffled by the gag. One of the thugs sent a straight punch to his stomach, causing Konohamaru to buckle over and pass out. Moegi and Udon looked over to Konohamaru with great concern.

"Konohamaru!" Naruto yelled, fearful eyes. This is exactly what he was afraid of. Getting them involved.

"There's a way you can save them from this." The thug with a broken nose walked up to Naruto, smugly.

"Anything…"

"Let us beat the living hell out of you. All of us." The thug grinned wider.

Naruto hung his head. He gave in, doing anything to keep those three safe was all he could hope for at the moment. "Go ahead…"

Without warning, the thug kicked Naruto on the side of his face, sending him sprawling onto the ground. The thugs all walked up, taking turns kicking Naruto in the stomach and stomping on him.

Naruto grit his teeth, trying to ignore the pain, but failing. He steeled himself enough that he didn't scream out. He wouldn't give the thugs the satisfaction.

One thug picked Naruto up off the ground and held him up three feet. He punched Naruto, breaking his nose, then again in the stomach, causing Naruto to vomit on the thugs arm. The thug instantly tossed Naruto, looking disgusted, while the others laughed.

The thug, completely pissed, grabbed a blade from his side and walked up to Naruto.

At this point Moegi was screaming through her gag, thrashing about on the pole she was tied to. Tears were streaking down her face.

Naruto looked up to her as the thug walked closer to him. He smiled… the slightest smile, trying to comfort her.

The thug bent down, slicing Naruto across the side. Then again. And again. He continued this, making mincemeat of Naruto's skin. Naruto actually screamed out this time, the pain too great to keep in. The other thugs joined in, taking chain whips, bottles, anything they could find, beating Naruto relentlessly.

After what seemed like hours, they stepped back, looking at their handiwork. It brought them a sick satisfaction, as if they were looking at a piece of artwork.

Though, to everyone's surprise, Naruto actually moved. Not only did he move, he placed his palms on the ground, pushing up. Through his will power, Naruto brought himself into a sitting position. He swallowed his pain, and ignored his body that was screaming at him not to move. He got up on his knees, then, to his feet. He stood in front of the group of thugs, a smug grin on his face. He spit a mouthful of blood. It dripped down the sides of his mouth, mixing with blood from other wounds.

He was shaking, almost falling over, but still that grin remained. He didn't look up at the thugs, but he didn't have to. "Is that… all… you got?" He breathed heavily, barely able to utter his sentence. "I was… hoping for… more…"

Two thugs stepped forward, connected to each other by a chain. It latched onto a gauntlet that each had on the opposite hand. The Demon Brothers, two of the fiercest thugs in Rukongai.

They held their bladed gauntlets out, pointed toward Naruto. The chain rattled. "Let us end him brother."

"I agree," the other spoke. They stepped forward one step, before charging toward Naruto. As they neared, Naruto could truly see the faces of demons on them.

The fear of death took over. Naruto was frozen in place, not even able to close his eyes.

But just as they had reached within killing range of Naruto, something completely unexpected happened. Naruto's eyes widened, looking at the newcomer.

A man, with spiky silver hair stood in front of him, defending him. He had both necks of the brothers in each of his arms, completely stopping their movements. The man's back was to Naruto, but he could make out the outfit. A blue, skin tight suit, with a green flak jacket over it. On the back of the jacket was a red swirl. What it meant, Naruto knew not.

This mysterious man snapped the brothers' necks, an audible pop being heard, and dropped them to the ground. The silver haired savior walked forward, staring down the mob of thugs.

"Only fifty? Too easy." Naruto turned to his right, to see another man in a similar outfit standing there. He had short brown hair, a full beard, and a cigarette hung from his mouth. In his hands were bladed brass knuckles, with a wicked edge on them.

The lead thug, the one who's nose was broken by Jiraiya, turned to look at the ones guarding the three kids. "Waste 'em!"

The five thugs standing around the kids were frozen in fear, terrified faces. "We… can't…. move." One said.

"What?" the broken nosed thug shouted. He looked down to their feet, to see shadows stretching off of their own, connecting to a single point. He looked up from that single point, seeing a man also dressed in the same fashion. His near black hair was long and pulled into a pineapple style pony-tail. There was a scar above and below his right eye. He sported a goatee.

The man sighed, "how troublesome."

* * *

I'll stop it there for now. Sorry for the cliffhanger. ^^

I know it's probably not the best chapter. This is just to set the story for now. Expect the next chapter soon.

Thank you for reading, and for your favorites, alerts, and reviews. I really appreciate them. Truly.


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